Yes, people! Let's start burning books! Or more accurately let's start burning foreign music albums. Sorry... statement emo. Saja je. Sebenarnya tak emo pun, tapi nak tunjuk kebodohan sesetengah pihak yang tunjuk belang betapa uneducated perangai meka walaupun nak orang hormat meka sangat.
So take note, this entry, yang akan panjang berjela, tidak akan mempunyai gambar artis ke haper, cuma luahan perasaan aku mengenai industri muzik negara kita.
I want the focus to be on the points after open forum Karyawan tadi yang talked about the memorandum meka nak hantar kat kementerian demanding the current quota of 60:40 of local content versus foreign, be changed to 90:10 for the sake of survival of the music industry.
So before we start, let's have the disclaimer.
So do I agree with the memorandum? Generally... yes. I want to see the survival of the music business here, and the rejuvenation of it so hopefully at some point, we bounce back to being the musical powerhouse we were decades ago.
But smalam, panas tul hati aku bila ada yang stok bodoh bangang ni yang besuara.
The issue : lagu luar.
Tapi tetiba ada yang sebut Indon maid la... dan sebagainya. I am a proud Malaysian. But I want to be proud of all things Malaysian, not by putting down others.
Here is a collection of some points that ran thorugh my mind, as well as 'tercirit' dari mulut aku about the whole Malaysia against the world (specifically Indonesia) when it comes to music.
DO WE HAVE ENOUGH MATERIAL?Walaupun kita punyai ramai artis, to force 90% quota is almost worrying. Aku cakap ni sebab at the end of the day, it's for sure yang stok sampah yang tak layak on air pun sibuk nak promosi lagu memasing memeningkan kita.
With lesser competition among local artists, aku bayangkan yang sora sombang, lagu bosan dan production tahap rakam dalam bilik air pun leh masuk radio sebab nak cukupkan quota.
QUALITY?Which brings us to issue of quality. Apa definition of what is quality. We have a lot of singers, who should most probably look for alternative employment, but they insist they have something to offer.
What is the far reaching impact of crap demanding air time now that there is more space to play with.
DEFINITIONWhat makes a song a lagu luar? The artist? Camtuh The Lima for one patut takleh kuar lagu la. Ke nak ikut definasi AIM yang meka yang sign to Malaysian label kira Malaysian?
Abih lagu yang ditulis komposer luar tapi sung by our artists? Sebab kalao ikut definasi atas yang di keluarkan AIM, not eligible gak. But tuh tuk competition and this is airplay. Still... amazing how rules can differ can without standards for this music industry...
The more rules, the more the definitions needed....so tiresome.
ENFORCEMENTSkang pun quota 60:40 takde enforcement. Kat forum tadi ada yang bising pasal Hot FM yang main culprits dalam isu membanjiri market with and ramai yang bertepuk dan bersorak tanda menyokong.
Kalao benar ada radio station yang tidak mengikuti syarat ni, kenapa tak wat something to enforce it?
What is the difference? Baik enforce yang ada skang sebelum nak up kan quota lagik.
NO WAY OUTKenapa ramai bising, lupa lak yang station macam x-fresh meka pandang remeh sedangkan x-fresh mainkan 100% lagu Malaysia.
Sebenarnya meka nak yang bebetul ada 'coverage' in Era dan Hot.
But someone forgot why these stations naik in the first place. By giving their listeners what they want - which includes some popular Indonesian songs.
BLAMEYang disebut lagu luar. Tapi ada malaun asik sebut lagu Indonesia, artis Indonesia.
I mean honestly. Kenapa asik nak salahkan Indonesians?
Dulu meka agungkan artis kita, sampai pihak berkuasa wat perangai sama cam sesetengah orang sini skang, nak kurangkan lagu Malaysia di radio Indonesia.
Tapi tetap Search dan Wings menjadi inspirasi ramai rockers masa tu di seberang.
They learnt. And grew.
Kira tak syok sendiri like some people here, and almost two decades later, kita da ketinggalan.
Pas ni nak salahkan sapa?
Singapore da mula masuk tapi takde yang bising? Ahli Fiqir, Imran Ajmain, Taufik batisah, Hady Mirza, Aliff Aziz.... Nak tunggu meka ni dominasi dulu baru nak kecoh?
Lepas ini nak salahkan siapa?
Nak tunggu ada Pesta Malam Philippines?
Cuba kita salahkan diri kita sendiri sebab muzik kita ketinggalan dan anggap sebagai cabaran tuk memperjuangkan reformasi dalam muzik Malaysia.
GROWTHAku pelik kenapa orang cepat sangat salahkan especially muzik Indonesia. Kalao bukan kerana Indonesian bands opening the door to the more to appreciate another brand of rock selain rock kapak dan rock leleh, ada ke anak muda kita leh appreciate bands like Meet Uncle Hussein, Hujan or even Estranged, all of which cross over from the indie or underground scene.
Kids today learnt to appreciate another brand of rock thanks to these influences.
WHO LOSES?Siapa yang rugi dalam bab nak main close market kita pada orang luar. Kang orang balas balik kat kita close up market kat kita camna?
Album pun takleh jual sini... A top artist dari negara kita leh jual something like 50,000 plus ngan heavy promotion and lots of hits. However when they take their product to Indonesia, they can sell about more than double there.
Sampai bila nak kita jadik juara kampung ni nak gaduh pasal market kita yang nan ado? nih?
WHO DO WE REALLY BLAME?I would blame recording companies. Dulu masa kita ok, syarikat rakaman keluarkan memacam artis sampah yang nan ado sora atau bakat.
Then pastu malas lak. Tanak cari pembaharuan. Semua nak tiru format orang lain asalkan orang lain pernah berjaya.
Tu sebab ingat tak time Siti meletop, ramai lak klon yang muncul tetiba pasaran kita penuh ngan sora semua ala ala Siti jerk.
Hasil perangai meka sendiri, skang nak raung akibatnya.
RELEVANCEThe problem with this industry is ramai yang syok sendiri. Aku salute dan respect setiap orang dalam industri ni because everyone ada sumbang something to the growth and development of it.
But without naming names. Kalao muzik seseorang tu, 20 tahun tak berubah, pastu kalao orang nak beli nak marah lak kata orang tak menghargai.
Dude! Kalao Elvis was alive pun silap silap dia pun da wat hip hop!
So the bottomline is some artists da tak relevan masih nak demand tempat di hati peminat. Justify it, bitches!
Aku respect people like Siti Nurhaliza, M. Nasir yang evolve dan berubah mengikut peredaran zaman walaupun maintain pendirian meka, as well as their sound and flavour.
WILL THE 90:10 HELP OUR INDUSTRY?I doubt it. Radio menentukan ke trends? Some people think so. Tapi how many songs do you know yang play over again yang ko suka, tapi kena repeat sampai rasa telinga nak melecet (leh ker?)
You know what I mean. Played to death sebab hit sangat kononnnya.
Lagikpon, aku tau ada artis yang lagu berapa ketul yang hit abih punya lagu, tapi jualan album nan ado!
CHANGEI think a lot has to do about attitude. Ramai orang dalam industri kita emotional dan bising tak abih abih. Tapi usaha tetap takde.
What was the last CD you bought of a local artist? How many do you have in your collection?
Think about it.
Aku kalao bebetul koleksi lama aku ada banyak. Ella, Sheila Majid, Ning Baizura, Ekamatra, BPR, Febians dan sebagainya.
The current batch? Malas nak sebut tapi a handful yang aku sanggup kuar duit sendiri je.
DICTATORSHIPSo what happens when orang nak paksa korang dengar apa meka nak ko dengar?
Will you layan anyway? Or will you change the station atau layan medium lain saja tuk dapat apa ko nak?
WHO GAINSSiapa yang untung dari hal ni. Meka yang gain dari royalties from airplay la. Dalam kes ni, sure a few people will make more money. But will it benefit people in this business as of whole?
Entahlah...
PROFESSIONALISMKenapa la fokus tak lebih pada being professional in this field?
Sini, artis dieksplotasi cam sial... kesian lak tengok. Ko tengok la sana sini show free... tour tuh ni la.. by radio stations, TV stations, papers dan sebagainya.
Artis dibayar murah atas dasar promosi.
Tapi ikut jer takot kena gam.
Masa tu tak bising lak nak bersuara hak artis. Kalao nak lawan 'orang luar'; berani lak bersuara.
Pastu da la bayar murah bersepah, kalao di tayangkan TV live event, takde lak special broadcasting arrangement for bayaran lebihan. Sehinanya artis Indonesia pada sesetengah orang kita, meka lebih profesional because mereka sehati sejiwa dan sepakat memperjuankan hak mereka.
Artis kita banyak yang takut nak fight for anything atas dasar, 'let someone else fight for it'.
So many issues, and they pick the one that perhaps, should not exactly be a priority with perhaps the least results.
BUSINESSCakap punya cakap, semua nak jaga kepentingan sendiri. Yes... it's a business. But why should people care about just your needs. Radio stations need advertisers, and advertisers need listenership.
Bottomline semua nak pikat pendengar.
Dan kalao apa yang diberikan dikehendaki pendengar, kenapa orang lain lak nak rasakan meka nih berhak untuk memaksa orang mengubah selera.
EDUCATIONPeople always talk about how orang kita kena ubah mentality.
I say our music community kena ubah mentality. Times change. You change with it, or get left behind. That's a fact. Grow up... accept it.
Popshuvit takde pun publisit meluas kat radio, tapi antara artis kita yang paling berjaya nun di luar sana.
Artis cam Nicholas Teo dan Fish Leong yang orang kita sendiri tak kenal. But they have more fans and sell lots of albums. Kenapa artis yang spoon fed everything pun nak bising instead of making an effort.
I could go on and on, but bottomline is this - WE HAVE TO CHANGE. Not force others to. Make music people love. Not force people to love what you choose to put out.
A producer once told me - kalao nak buat music tuk puaskan diri sendiri, then record dan layan sendiri jerk. Kalao nak wat album, make sure it sells.
The ideal would be able to make music you love and people love. But hey... nothing's perfect.
Deal with it.
So anyway, what's my stand after all that?
Tujuan aku tulis panjang lebar is not to antagonize anyone. Even though kat forum aku tau ada golongan yang tak puas ati ngan apa aku katakan.
Thank you those like Faizal Tahir,Dayang Nurfaizah and even M. Nasir yang talked to me among others. Not all my points everyone would agree on. But I know that they know too most of what I say above has weight and has to be considered.
We are all fighting for the same thing - but maybe in different ways. Bottomline is - let's save the Malaysian music industry!
My stand at www.klubbkidd.com is that we have to support our music. But let's not lose everything in doing it.
Don't cut your nose to spite your face.
Letih jari... more tomorrow...
PS - This is not my longest entry ever... tapi letih nak naip. Pala berat pikir orang kita nya attitude towards change. So many fear change, and so many won't let go of their past successes. So how do we move on to the future?
